Aviation Fascination soars at Falcon Field

Dec. 8—For more than a decade, Aviation Fascination has climbed to new heights at Falcon Field in Mesa and last month's event was no exception, drawing hundreds of people to one of Mesa's two major air traffic hubs.

The event started when the Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum approached Mesa Chamber of Commerce President Sally Harrison to host an event. Harrison wanted an "aviation-focused event" and made a few calls to some of the Chamber's fellow aerospace members, who loved the idea.

"My idea was to open it up so it was a public event where we could just celebrate aviation," Harrison said.

Harrison said the event has continued to grow over the last decade and for the last three years (excluding 2020) it has drawn more than 1,200 people each year.

Harrison said the event draws people of all ages to stand in awestruck as they get an up close look at aircraft such as an AH-64 Apache Helicopter made right here in Mesa.

"You don't have to be an aviation buff to walk out of the hangar and see that Apache sitting there and get excited," Harrison said. "You've got these little kids with the big eyes. It's just heartwarming."

The Boeing Company has sponsored the event every year and brought in a fully functional AH-64 Apache helicopter for the public to see up close.

Mark Gaspers, senior manager for government operations at Boeing, said the event helps the community see firsthand the finished product of what some of their neighbors do daily.

Boeing employs approximately 4,800 people at their Mesa facility that in 2021 celebrated the 2,021st Apache helicopter made for the U.S. Army.

"I think that's what people carry with them when they leave this event," Gaspers said. "Of all the great neighbors and people that are community members that are here and working with our team."

Heliponents Inc. sponsored the event and hosted it at their Falcon Field hangar.

Heliponents Inc. Owner-President Chad Barta said he focuses more on the exposure the event brings to the public because of the aviation presence in Mesa.

Barta has spent 30 years in the aviation business and said people of all ages come out and stand in awe as they walk on the tarmac among these winged wonders makes it all worth it.

"For us, we kind of get numb to the aviation side of it, because that's what we do every day," Barta said "But for the general public that doesn't get that opportunity, it really opens it up for them to really get in and feel and understand it."

California Aeronautical University, based in Bakersfield, California, has a campus at Falcon Field and was one of the sponsors for this year's event.

The flight school brought out a flight simulator that their students learn on but "the most touching part" for Marine Corps veteran Justin Frye was the twin-engine airplane displayed with patriotic decals and more than 7,500 name of service members killed in action after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Frye served for 11 years in the Marine Corps as an aviation maintenance administrationman, as well as with the Marine Corps Security Force, with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He said he found the names of five service members he deployed with on the aircraft.

Frye separated from the Marine Corps in 2018 and now works on the technical records and fleet management for Top Aces, an aviation training institute at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport that operates the "enemy" aircraft for fighter pilot training at Luke Air Force Base.

Frye also studies project management and business administration Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the hopes of becoming a project manager for an airport to develop them bigger and more accessible to the communities.

Frye brought his wife and three kids to the event and said Aviation Fascination helps reiterate to the public just how important aircraft of all sizes play in our daily lives.

"Most people don't understand exactly how big of a role aviation plays in our daily lives," Frye said. "But they don't understand how small aircraft and how historical aircraft like this actually play a part in our in our lives and our history of our country and our society."